Managed print services: how your business could benefit

Most businesses still rely, at least to some extent, on printers, multifunction devices (MFDs), and photocopiers. These devices can either be a cost burden and a drain on a business, or they can contribute to efficiency and cost management, depending on how you work with them.

Managed print services (MPS) can help drive down costs and ensure you don’t pay for more devices or consumables than you need, however MPS can also go much further than that, delivering strategic benefits that can help drive your business success.

Data analysis lets you make better decisions

MPS includes collecting data about who uses your printers, how they use them, how much they print, and how much it costs. The insights that this data can deliver lets you make decisions around workflows, the number of devices in your organisation, print policies, and ways to reduce costs.

For example, MPS can incorporate digitisation and content storage options that reduce your reliance on manual, paper-based documents and processes. This can save time and money in many areas.

There are six key areas where MPS can deliver tangible, strategic benefits

1. Security. Incorporating pull printing capabilities into your print environment reduces the amount of unclaimed documents that sit on the printer. If you’re printing classified or confidential material from your devices, including BYOD, you don’t want it sitting on the printer for everyone to see. Pull printing means employees enter their unique code at the printer before the document prints out. This not only improves security but also reduces wasted paper from unclaimed printouts.
2. Mobile printing. As more employees work from remote locations, use smartphones and tablets including BYOD, mobile printing makes it easier for them to be productive. Eliminating the need to login to a networked computer at the office to print essential documents means employees can print what they need on the fly, without delay, using the device they’re most comfortable with.
3. Behaviour modification. When businesses don’t track what’s printed, people can get into the habit of printing every email and every document, sometimes in colour, usually on just one side of the paper. By setting and enforcing printing policies, MPS can help you modify this behaviour so users print only what they really need, choose the cheaper black and white option over colour where appropriate, and print double-sided to save paper.
4. Workflow design. By digitising more documents and their associated workflows, you can reduce the amount of printed copies and streamline the workflow. In many cases, digitalisation can eliminate the need for printed versions altogether. This reduces the risk of lost paperwork, manual re-work, and errors.
5. Cloud and hosted services. MPS offerings that let you take advantage of the cloud and hosted services can contribute to cost savings and a reduced need for on-premise infrastructure.
6. Anytime access to skilled support services. Sometimes equipment needs maintenance or repairs when it’s least convenient; usually when there’s a big report due or a meeting about to start. MPS agreements include support services to keep you up and running.
7. Optimising your printing. Many businesses have a higher than necessary printer to staff ratio. MPS analyses and recommends changes to device locations and quantities to optimise user experience and consolidate print infrastructure; ultimately saving your business money.

The end result of MPS agreements is long-term, sustainable cost and time savings that let you focus on your core business while your business equipment works the way it’s supposed to.